CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- You want to grab them by the shoulder pads and shake, smack them upside the helmets, unleash a primal, earsplitting scream and demand they spit out their mouthpieces and give you a clear, logical answer.

Because you know the Saints who showed up to play Carolina on Sunday afternoon can be like that more often than they have.

You know they can be very, very, very, very good -- as they were during the administering of a 31-6 beatdown at Bank of America Stadium -- a lot more than they have been in 2007. You know they can be, and should be, better than the 5-6 record they own today, which has them two games behind Tampa Bay in the NFC South Division and, likely, relegates them to winning the division if they want to make the playoffs.

You know that, at worst, they should be tied with the Buccaneers at 7-4, rather than two games back with five to play and the sun rapidly setting on the season.

And you know that they know.

"(But) you've got to understand the game," defensive tackle Hollis Thomas said. "Sometimes things just happen. Sometimes they just don't roll the way you want them to roll."

But five times this season, the Saints have proved they can make them roll the way they want to. The way they were supposed to.

Granted, Sunday might not have been the greatest gauge. The Panthers aren't to be confused with anything resembling a competent outfit. Against the Saints they looked and played like one of the worst 4-7 teams in NFL history.

"We are just not real good right now," Carolina coach John Fox said. "We've got to coach better. We've got to play better. We have to execute better on game day."

But guess what? Essentially, that same crew wandered into the Superdome on Oct. 7 and stole a victory, 16-13. The same pitiful quarterbacks, porous defense, ineffective runners and offensive line that left Bank of America early in every way but physical presence hung around the Dome and coached, played and executed. And they handed the Saints one of four losses that have been embarrassing and dispiriting.

A maddening journey

Losing such games is why the Saints have been on a maddening journey, managing no more than to run in a circle as the wins continue trying to catch the losses.

Winning them like they did Sunday is how you come to wonder why New Orleans hasn't been able to take that other Saints team and lock it away for a longer stretch of the season than it has.

"We're the same group," cornerback Mike McKenzie said. "When we control the turnover situation, we appear to play pretty well. We understand exactly what we do well and what stops us from winning."

What they did well Sunday was just about everything.

The Saints actually racked up 36 meaningful rushing attempts (excluding Jamie Martin's three kneel-downs) and though the result was just 116 yards (Martin's minus-3 not added), the fact they tried to run -- and kept trying -- is significant. And they held Carolina to 43 rushing yards on 18 carries.

Cumulatively, opposing quarterbacks have undressed the Saints this season. But David Carr and Matt Moore were pushed past the limits of awful, combining to complete 18 of 36 passes for 161 yards and three interceptions.

The Saints caused and recovered a fumble, didn't allow anything significant in the return game, ran 20 more plays than the Panthers (75-55) and didn't allow a touchdown for the first time this season.

By any measure they dominated Carolina, scoring three touchdowns in the third quarter and reminding us, again, that they are a team that has the potential to do all of those things routinely.

"It's very difficult, especially in the NFL," Thomas said of pounding a team on the road. "Everybody's got pride."

Focused on 'the now'

And the Saints showed a bit of that, too, against the Panthers. Sunday's victory was a nice balm after losses against St. Louis and Houston that were crushing, and maybe will be deal-breakers for the playoffs.

"I think it gets back to eliminating some of the things that keep you from winning games," Saints coach Sean Payton said. "Our focus is only on the now. I was pleased for us to come on the road and get a big win. Fortunately, we still have a lot of football left and a lot of things we can improve on."

Actually, Sunday's effort looked plenty good enough. That kind of play, in three or four other games, probably would have been enough to claim victory in at least two or three of them.

You know it.

The Saints know it.

And, probably, they want to shake themselves just as much as you do because of it.

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John DeShazier can be reached at jdeshazier@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3410.